Easy Houseplants to Keep Alive
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d be a houseplant person but here we are… and they bring me more joy than a lot of other things in our home!
Houseplants bring so much life into a space - they add fun pops of color and a little personality to each room they inhabit. Studies have shown that having indoor plants can boost your mood, productivity, concentration and creativity. Plus, they purify the air inside your home by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity and producing oxygen.
They’re also a fairly inexpensive way to decorate - Amazon even sells live houseplants and will ship them fresh and healthy right to your front door.
Today I’m sharing some of my favorite “easy-keepers” and a few tips on how to care for them and where to buy. These are (mostly) beginner plants and don’t require a ton of time and attention.
Neon Pothos:
I LOVE this bright green Pothos. I spotted it at Lowe’s it up at Lowes and had some trial and error before I figured out exactly where it would be happiest. Originally, I had it in front of what I *thought was indirect light from a window. Turns out it was way too much sun and my Pothos quickly got sunburnt.
I ended up moving it into our guest bathroom shower where it gets nice, filtered, indirect light in the late afternoon. I wait to water until the soil is pretty much completely dry and the plant is starting to droop. I just leave it in the hanger and pop the removable tray off of the pot so that I can water it until it drains - pros of hanging your plant in the shower!
Satin Pothos or Silver Vine:
Also called a Money Plant, this silvery-spotted pothos is so tolerant - I basically just wait until the leaves start to wilt before I give it a little water. It hangs in our master bathroom where it gets plenty of bright but indirect light throughout the day.
Fiddle Leaf Fig:
Not gonna lie, this one intimidated me. I also didn’t want to spend $50 on a plant I was probably going to kill, so when I saw a fairly large and very healthy-looking fiddle leaf fig at my local Winn-Dixie for $20 I figured it was worth a shot! (Spoiler, that’s super cheap for a mature fiddle leaf fig so make sure to check your local grocery store’s floral department when you go to see if you can score one too)
This notoriously difficult “treenager” has been thriving in my home, and I think it’s because of these tips I picked up from Hilton Carter, who I follow on Instagram.
Water when the top 1-2 inches of soil is dry.
I like to pick up my plant, put it in my shower, and water thoroughly until I see water run out of the bottom. I let it sit and drain for about 30 minutes, then put it back in its spot. I water once a week and only if the top 2 inches are dry.
Don’t move your fiddle leaf fig around. They like consistency. Find a spot that has the right light (bright, indirect) and LEAVE IT THERE.
Keep the roots covered. Fiddle leaf figs eat their soil - it’s the craziest thing. When you start to see roots on the top layer of your soil, cover them with some potting soil. Just leave about an inch to to the top of the pot.
Remember to wipe down the leaves every so often to remove dust and help them shine.
A lot of people say to use coconut oil, but coconut oil can lead to suffocation of the leaves so its best to use either a little bit of dish soap or just a damp rag
I’ve also bought a pretty healthy little Fiddle Leaf Fig from Amazon for around $25 - click here for the link.
ZZ Plant:
ZZ Plants are second only to snake plants in my opinion in being one of the easiest house plants to keep alive - they tolerate almost no light, infrequent watering, and all sorts of abuse. I water mine every 2ish weeks.
One of the biggest downfalls to the ZZ plant is that they are toxic if ingested so either avoid if you have pets or young children or just make sure they’re somewhere out of reach.
This one came from Amazon too - check it out here!
Snake Plant:
By far the easiest house plant of all time - not much care is required for Snake Plants. They will flourish in bright indirect light, but will also stay alive in windowless rooms that just have florescent lighting. I let mine dry out all the way in between waterings, and am just careful to not get water in the inner folds of the plant near the soil to avoid any sort of potential rot issues. I also wipe mine down occasionally to remove dust.
Helpful Tips
With all of my houseplants, I tend to just leave them in their grow pots until they need to be re-potted. You can just stick the whole pot in another “cute” pot or basket but it helps them better acclimate to your home when you first get them if you just leave them in the pot they came in!
In order to remember to water/check on my plants I do “Thirsty Thursday” - this is a time to take a look at each plant for any issues and to see if they need to be watered or if they need another week. Having this routine watering schedule has REALLY helped my Fiddle Leaf Figs to be successful.